The present invention relates generally to article or mail-piece conveyor systems, and more particularly to a new and improved product transportation system for conveying articles or mail pieces, wherein the product transportation system comprises a conveyor mechanism, which has a substantially horizontally oriented conveyor or product transportation surface upon which the articles, mail pieces, or products can be conveyed or transported in an upstanding mode as a result of the articles, mail pieces, or products effectively being supported upon lower edge portions thereof, and an inclined surface against which the major or primary surface portions, surface regions, or mass of each article, mail piece, or product is supported so as to permit the articles, mail pieces, or products to be readily and easily conveyed or transported by means of the horizontally oriented conveyor or product transportation surface, and wherein further, the inclined surface has integrally incorporated therein vacuum port or conduit structure through which air is effectively withdrawn from the article, mail piece, or product conveyor or transportation path so as to effectively maintain the articles, mail pieces, or products attracted to or adhered upon the inclined surface of the product transportation system, and in addition, the inclined surface also has integrally incorporated therein pneumatic output ports or conduits through which air is effectively simultaneously supplied to the article, mail piece, or product conveying or transportation path so as to effectively form an air bearing structure for the articles, mail pieces, or products so as to facilitate the smooth and easy conveyance or transportation of such articles, mail pieces, or products along the conveyor or product transportation flow path.
Article conveyor systems conventionally comprise serially arranged pairs of conveyor belts for conveying the particular articles in a predetermined direction. Each one of the conveyor belts comprises a closed or endless loop structure wherein opposite ends of the closed or endless loop are respectively routed around rollers, at least one of which comprises a conveyor belt drive roller. The inner runs or inner portions of each pair of closed or endless looped conveyor belts are disposed immediately adjacent to each other in an opposed, side-by-side, or laterally or transversely spaced, mode with respect to each other along the direction of conveyance. In this manner, the opposed inner runs or inner portions of the conveyor belts cooperate together so as to effectively encounter and operatively engage the articles therebetween whereby the articles are effectively entrained with the opposed conveyor belts so as to be conveyed thereby in the predetermined direction of conveyance. The drive roller operatively associated with each conveyor belt is conventionally driven by means of a drive system which comprises, for example, a high-voltage electric drive motor and a mechanical drive system operatively interconnecting the electric motor output shaft and the rotary drive shaft upon which the drive roller is fixedly mounted. Such mechanical drive systems generate and radiate an inordinate amount of noise. In addition, while the electric drive motors, respectively associated with each one of the conveyor belts comprising each pair of oppositely disposed conveyor belts, can be suitably regulated so as to cause their output shafts to be rotated at a predetermined rotary speed which would, in turn, cause the conveyor belt drive rollers to likewise be rotated at the same rotary speed, due to various factors inherently characteristic of conventional conveyor belt drive systems, it often happens that the opposed conveyor belts are not in fact driven at the same lineal rate of speed.
Accordingly, a speed differential effectively exists between the oppositely disposed inner runs or inner portions of the opposed conveyor belts, and when these oppositely disposed inner runs or inner portions of the opposed conveyor belts, being operated at their different lineal rates of speed, operatively engage the opposite surface portions of the articles being conveyed between and by the oppositely disposed inner runs or inner portions of the opposed conveyor belts, serious operational and environmental problems occur. More particularly, as a result of the engagement of the opposite surface portions of the articles by the oppositely disposed inner runs or inner portions of the opposed conveyor belts conveying the articles along the longitudinal extent of the overall conveyor system, frictional forces are generated between the opposite surface portions of the articles and the oppositely disposed inner runs or inner portions of the opposed conveyor belts as a result of the effective mechanical scrubbing of the opposite surface portions of the articles by the oppositely disposed inner runs or inner portions of the opposed conveyor belts. In light of such mechanical scrubbing of the opposite surface portions of the articles by the oppositely disposed inner runs or inner portions of the opposed conveyor belts, the articles being conveyed by the opposed conveyor belts are subjected to highly erosive forces. These highly erosive forces not only effectively compromise the structural integrity of each article being conveyed by the opposed conveyor belts, but in addition, result in the generation of atmospherically suspended cellulose particulates which not only constitute a human health hazard but, still further, present a potentially explosive atmospheric condition and hazardous work environment.
Continuing still further, it is noted that, as a result of the employment of the aforenoted type of article or product conveyor or transportation system, that is, an article or product conveyor system comprising pairs of oppositely disposed conveyor belts wherein the articles, mail pieces, or products are conveyed as a result of being effectively entrained between the oppositely disposed inner runs or inner portions of the oppositely disposed conveyor belts, the articles, mail pieces, or products that can readily be conveyed or transported by means of such article or product conveyor or transportation systems is limited. More particularly, the articles, mail pieces, or products that can be successfully or viably conveyed or transported by means of such article or product conveyor or transportation systems cannot have thickness dimensions which exceed predetermined values or limits. Accordingly, it is often problematic to utilize such article or product conveyor or transportation systems in order to convey or transport relatively bulky articles or products, such as, for example, literature, greeting card packages, pharmaceutical packages, and the like. In addition, the articles, mail pieces, or products must have a predetermined degree of inherent rigidity. Accordingly, it is likewise often problematic to utilize such article or product conveyor or transportation systems in order to convey or transport, for example, newspapers or magazines which are characterized by means of a low level of inherent rigidity.
Various other types of article or product conveyor or transportation systems are of course well known in the art and industry whereby, for example, typically bulky articles or packages can in fact be conveyed or transported thereby, however, such conveyor or transportation systems usually or often exhibit additional operational drawbacks or disadvantages in connection with, for example, article or product logistics, sorting, or routing. For example, bulky or non-rigid articles or products can be placed upon a horizontally disposed or oriented roller conveyor, but due to various factors inherent to the conveyance or transportation of the articles or products, the articles or products may be jostled, subjected to vibrations, or the like, whereby the predetermined orientation of the articles or products upon the conveyor may become altered. This alteration in the orientation of the articles or products upon the conveyor can prove to be problematic because if the articles or products need to be scanned at a downstream location in order to properly route or convey the same to a predetermined destination, the bar code or other indicia present upon the article or product may no longer be capable of being properly scanned or read by automatic apparatus. Still further, since the articles or products, located upon the horizontally disposed roller conveyor, are supported upon the conveying surface portion of the conveyor by means of a primary surface or side wall portion of the article or product, substantial surface-to-surface contact is defined between the article or product and the transportation conveyor. Accordingly, substantial friction forces are defined or generated between the surfaces of the article or product and the transportation conveyor mechanism whereby, for example, in order to remove the article or product from the transportation conveyor in accordance with different routing or sorting programs or techniques, substantial forces must be applied to the article or product in order to effectively disengage the article or product from the transportation conveyor.
Still further, in the instance where magazines or newspapers are being conveyed, for example, as a result of being disposed in a flat state upon a roller conveyor, if various implements, physical or mechanical, pneumatic, or the like, are utilized to move the magazines or newspapers with respect to the roller conveyor in an effort to remove the same therefrom in accordance with particular routing or sorting techniques, it is sometimes operationally difficult for the implements to properly engage the newspapers or magazines. The reason for this is that as a result of the disposition or orientation of the newspapers or magazines upon the conveyor in the aforenoted flat state, the operative area profiles of the newspapers or magazines which are effectively exposed to such implements is relatively small. Therefore, the implements for moving the articles or products upon the conveyor, or for removing the articles or products from the conveyor, must either be specially constructed in order to perform such operations, or must be capable of exerting or generating substantially large force values.
A need therefore exists in the art for a new and improved article or product conveyor or transportation system wherein diverse types of articles or products, comprising, for example, bulky articles or products having relatively large or irregular thickness dimensions, or articles or products having a relatively low level of rigidity, such as, for example, newspapers or magazines, can be readily transported or conveyed, and in addition, the articles or products can also be easily maintained upon the conveyor or transportation mechanism as well as easily controlled for achieving proper routing, sorting, and processing of the same without the need for the apparatus or system to comprise specially constructed implements, or for the apparatus or system to include implements which can in fact exert or generate substantially large force levels or values in order to achieve the aforenoted routing, sorting, or processing of the articles or products.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved article, mail piece, or product conveyor or transportation system.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved article, mail piece, or product conveyor or transportation system which effectively overcomes the various operational disadvantages and drawbacks characteristic of conventional PRIOR ART conveyor or transportation systems.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved article, mail piece, or product conveyor or transportation system which is capable of conveying or transporting articles, mail pieces, or products that may have diverse thickness dimensions and/or inherent rigidity characteristics.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved article, mail piece, or product conveyor or transportation system which is capable of conveying or transporting articles, mail pieces, or products, that may have diverse thickness dimensions and/or inherent rigidity characteristics, in such a manner that the individual articles, mail pieces, or products are positively retained upon the conveyor or transportation mechanism, and yet the conveyance of the articles, mail pieces, or products upon the conveyor or transportation mechanism is also positively facilitated such that the articles, mail pieces, or products can be easily, rapidly, and assuredly conveyed or transported.
A last object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved article, mail piece, or product conveyor or transportation system which is capable of conveying or transporting articles, mail pieces, or products, that may have diverse thickness dimensions and/or inherent rigidity characteristics, in such a manner that the individual articles, mail pieces, or products are positively retained upon the conveyor or transportation mechanism, and yet the conveyance of the articles, mail pieces, or products upon the conveyor or transportation mechanism is also positively facilitated such that the articles, mail pieces, or products can be easily, rapidly, and assuredly conveyed or transported so as to assure routing, sorting, and further processing of the articles, mail pieces, or products.
The foregoing and other objectives are achieved in accordance with the teachings and principles of the present invention through the provision of a new and improved article, mail piece, or product conveyor or transportation system which comprises a conveyor mechanism, which has a substantially horizontally oriented conveyor or product transportation surface upon which the articles, mail pieces, or products can be conveyed or transported in an upstanding mode as a result of the articles, mail pieces, or products effectively being supported upon lower edge portions thereof, and an inclined surface against which the major or primary surface portions, surface regions, or mass of each article, mail piece, or product is supported so as to permit the articles, mail pieces, or products to be readily and easily conveyed or transported by means of the horizontally oriented conveyor or product transportation surface. The inclined surface has integrally incorporated therein vacuum plenum chambers through which air is effectively withdrawn from the article, mail piece, or product conveyor or transportation path so as to effectively maintain the articles, mail pieces, or products attracted to or adhered upon the inclined surface of the product transportation system, and in addition, the inclined surface also has integrally incorporated therein positive air supply plenum chambers through which air is effectively simultaneously supplied to the article, mail piece, or product conveying or transportation path so as to effectively form an air bearing structure for the articles, mail pieces, or products so as to facilitate the smooth and easy conveyance or transportation of such articles, mail pieces, or products along the conveyor or product transportation flow path.
Still further, the entire article, mail piece, or product conveyor or transportation system is pivotal around a lower corner region thereof so as to effectively alter the relative inclination of both the horizontally oriented conveyor or product transportation surface, upon which the articles, mail pieces, or products are conveyed or transported, as well as the inclined surface against which the major or primary surface portions, surface regions, or mass of each article, mail piece, or product is supported. In this manner, predetermined alterations can be made to the article, mail piece, or product conveyor or transportation system in order to partially adjust the gravitational support of the diverse articles, mail pieces, or products being conveyed along the horizontally oriented conveyor or product transportation surface. Accordingly, regardless of the weight of any of the particular articles, mail pieces, or products being conveyed by means of the conveyor or transportation system, all articles, mail pieces, or products can be readily, easily, and quickly conveyed or transported along the horizontally oriented conveyor or product transportation surface so as to achieve the ultimate routing, sorting, and further processing of the articles, mail pieces, or products.